My sister and her family are early risers, so poor Richard isn’t going to get much chance to sleep in over the next few days, I can see (I am also an early riser). I got up this morning and chatted with my sister and brother-in-law, and then after she made coffee, I made a double batch of pumpkin scones for breakfast. The niece is a rather picky sort of eater (but in her defense, when I was her age I was probably just as picky, if not worse). So the veggie stew last night did not make a hit for the small set (too many things ‘touching’ – heh). Luckily, the pumpkin scones this morning were met with enthusiasm.
The morning was spent fairy quietly. My niece borrowed our copy of Harry Potter, Goblet of Fire and camped out on the sofa with a book and a few cats, while us adults all sat around reading, or chatting. Eventually, my parents arrived (I think they simply couldn’t wait any longer to get to see their only granddaughter), and we all went out to lunch. And then it was off to the ice skating rink at the Downtown Plaza mall.
Ice skating was…interesting. We met my older sister and her family there, and most of us got skates. The problem was that the ice was pretty rough, and the skates were all hockey skates and not very good, so the rink was mostly full of people stumbling around trying very hard not to do a face plant on the ice. My sisters and I used to ice skate all the time when we were kids (one of the side benefits of growing up in Alaska), but we had figure skating skates, and those are thinner blades and easier to maneuver in than hockey skates. Nevertheless, we all gave it a very good try. I’ve skated most recently of the three of us (my sisters and I), since there’s a rink up in Roseville and one in Vacaville, but even with that, I still managed to hit a particularly rough patch on the ice and launch myself face first onto the ice. Heh.
The youngest nephew didn’t last more than a round or two, and then was content to just sit on the sides with grandma and grandpa. The niece gave it a valiant effort with her dad, although I’m not sure he managed to get her off the side of the rink more than a few short minutes of the entire time. But the oldest nephew we practically had to pry off the ice with a crowbar. He’s roller bladed before, so at least he has an idea of how to handle balancing on that sort of blade, and he just pretty much flung himself out onto the ice and went at it with absolutely no fear. We watched him do quite a number of falls, either face first, or butt first, but he’d pick himself up and get right back into it. It was so much fun to watch his determination.
There was a guy there making balloon hats, so my younger sister took the two youngest cousins over to chat with him. The boys only wanted balloon swords, but my niece came back sporting a quite impressive hat that stood several feet tall.
After ice skating, everyone came back to our house for dinner. By angling the table, we’re able to get all eleven of my family members around the table with room to spare, so it worked out quite well. There was spaghetti and meatballs (hard to go wrong with that combination, with even the pickiest of eaters) and salad and bread and then for dessert, everyone pulled out all the boxes and tins of cookies and fudge and I think it’s safe to say that no one went hungry.
My older sister and her family headed back to their house, since they’ve got to get up early tomorrow morning, and my parents headed back as well, so suddenly the house is quiet again. The cats are starting to creep slowly out from all their hiding places, and my niece is back on the sofa, with her book and a cat, and the house is lit primarily with the soft glow of Christmas lights, and I think eventually we will all slowly make our way to bed and get ready for another day.
Happy Holidailies!